


Second Chances

by violetstorm



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Friendship, Other, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 20:37:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12020541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: "When that happens, he will no longer be the son of my enemy and I no longer his servant. We'll start over as Asch and Gailardia. Just two people."





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> "I bet he's a pretty fun guy, without all that baggage."
> 
> This fic takes place post-game. Here, Luke was the person who appeared in Tataroo Valley during the ending scene, and Asch is... somehow alive, too?

“Wait,” Luke had said, when Jade suggested that they head back. “There’s one last thing.” Luke lifted his chin, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. Nobody had tried to protest as they watched Luke. He opened his eyes, snapping back to reality. “Good. He’s still there. Follow me, I want to show you something.”

At the shocked look on his friend’s faces, Luke only laughed. “No — no, don’t worry. It’s not Van. Come on!” Without giving them a chance to respond, Luke ran towards the trees, leaving the field of selenias. A brief moment’s hesitation followed, then they all ran, chasing after Luke, who was nimbly weaving through the trees.

They reached the bottom of the valley, where Luke ran along the water’s shore, footsteps left behind in the sand. Eldrant. He was running to the ruins of Eldrant? There was no time to ask questions amongst the party, they were trying too hard to keep up with Luke.

Then, Luke stopped running, as did everybody else when they followed his gaze. There, standing alone, facing the ruins of Eldrant… The party was mute, having lost their voices, while Luke only smiled. He nudged Natalia, who looked from the figure, to Luke, then back to the figure, her eyes widening in realization. 

“Asch…?” Natalia whispered, breathless.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the figure turned around, and that was enough for Natalia. She burst into tears and began running forward, stumbling on the soft ground, before falling into Asch’s arms, her loud sobs echoing through the air. The figure, Asch, stiffened, then soon relaxed, wrapping his arms around Natalia as he surveyed the group. And through all that, Luke smiled this all-knowing smile as he watched Asch with a fond gaze.

* * *

 

In the month and a half since Luke — and Asch — came back, Guy saw a lot of strange things. For one, Asch’s sudden appearance by Eldrant. Jade had interrogated the two boys senselessly, and after he was done, he sat back in his chair, taking a sip of coffee that had long since gone cold, and admitted that he was never so happy to be wrong before. Guy hadn’t expected Asch to come back. He’d heard from Luke how Asch died. Judging from Asch’s behaviour, he didn’t expect to come back either.

Guy saw Asch  _ not _ kill Luke when he had dragged him back to Baticul by his hair, kicking and screaming the whole time, until Jade pointed out that he would alert any monsters nearby. Asch shut up quickly after that. 

Guy had also seen Asch  _ willingly _ spend time with Luke. He had seen Asch  _ relaxed _ , for once, and around Luke, no less. He had seen Asch  _ laugh _ . Not a mirthless, cruel laugh meant to incite fear. An actual laugh, one born from joy. Before, Guy thought Asch didn’t have the ability to laugh. Hell, he thought Asch couldn’t even smile.

There was no doubt that something happened between Luke and Asch while they were… wherever they were in the time since they freed Lorelei and their return. Something had happened in the ruins of Eldrant that created a bond between them. Something changed in Asch, who had begun to see Luke as a person instead of a replacement. He was even learning to trust more. Even if that one person was Tear. Anise and Jade were… well… Asch tolerated them.

As for Guy… He didn’t know. He requested an absence from his “job” so he could stay with Luke — although he would be lying if he said it was entirely for Luke. Those rappigs weren’t easy to take care of — and he had been spending most of his time with Luke. He swore he could see Asch duck away into another room or corridor whenever he saw Guy, but there was no way to prove that. The castle was in chaos, trying to prepare a celebration for the return of the Duke’s two heirs, which was exactly why Guy was taking a quick moment to relax on one of the castle’s wide balconies, enjoying the sight of the stars above.

He had only been leaning on the railings for about a minute or so before a voice rang out from behind him. “Hey. Mind if I join you?” It was Luke. Guy moved aside to make room for Luke as his answer.

“How was the meeting?” Guy asked. Luke groaned.

“Don’t remind me. The whole time, Natalia was lecturing me on my manners in front of everybody.”

Guy chuckled. “You do need to work on them. You’re the Duke’s son, after all.”

Luke cringed. “I’ll leave that stuff to Asch.” Then, he paused, staring at Guy thoughtfully. “Say, Guy. About Asch…”

Oh. Guy did not like where this was going. “Yeah?”

“Have you spoken to Asch since… since we came back?”

“...Not really.” Guy admitted. “We haven’t really had a chance to.”

“You should. Asch really likes you, you know.”

“What?” Guy spluttered, face pink.

“Not like that, idiot. I meant like as a friend.” Luke said, ignoring Guy’s cry of ‘I didn’t think of it in that way!’ “He’s not angry at you for wanting revenge.”

Bullshit. Asch was always angry at something. “Luke. I don’t want revenge anymore. I stopped wanting it a long time ago.”

“I know. And Asch knows that too. Guy…” Luke trailed off. “Didn’t you say that you wanted to be friends with Asch again?”

More spluttering. “Wha— when did I say that?”

“To Natalia. Before we went to Eldrant. In Chesedonia. She told me that you spoke to her and told her that you wanted to start over with Asch.”

Ah. It would be a lie to say that Guy hadn’t thought about it. When he said that to Natalia, Guy was prepared, but now that Asch was actually back… “Well, I didn’t necessarily mean that I’d—”

“Guy.” Luke turned to face Guy, annoyance clearly written across his face. “I mean it when I say that Asch doesn’t hate you. He really does want to try and be friends with you. Now’s a good time as any to talk to Asch, before the ceremony. I think it'd make him really happy if you do."

Happy was not a word synonymous with Asch. “You really want me to do it, huh..?” Guy said. Luke nodded eagerly.

“Please? Do it for me? And Asch?” There was that damn puppy-dog look in his eyes. How could Guy say no to that?

“...Alright. I will.”

“Great!” Luke cheered, pumping his fists in the air. “You can do it right now!”

“ _ What?” _

Guy, taken aback, could only watch Luke shut his eyes, a mirror image of what he saw in Tataroo Valley. Whenever Luke was communicating with Asch in his head, he would get this unsettling far-away look. Guy didn’t know how Luke handled having another person able to just… look inside his head. He repressed a shudder.

“Brilliant!” Luke said, upon opening his eyes. “He’s in the castle gardens and he said that he’ll wait for you.”

“The castle gardens..?” Guy repeated, slowly detaching himself from the railings he had been leaning on. Oh, no, Guy was  _ definitely  _ not stalling for time. Unfortunately, Luke apparently thought Guy was moving  _ too _ slowly and grabbed his arm, yanking Guy back into the castle.

“Hurry, you don’t want to miss him!”

* * *

 

Asch was in the castle gardens, just as Luke said he would be. While his back was turned to Guy and his eyes on the flower bed in front of him, Guy refused to think that Asch was appreciating the beauty of the flowers. He didn’t know if it was possible for Asch to do something like that.

At the sound of Guy’s footsteps, Asch didn’t turn. Was he really that deep in thought? It seemed almost rude to interrupt him, but they were both there for a reason. “Asch.”

Asch spun around with a shocked expression, one that quickly turned into the perpetual scowl he so loved to do. “...Guy,” Asch said, as a greeting or a statement, Guy didn’t know. “What are you doing here?”

Confused, Guy cocked his head. “Didn’t Luke tell you I was coming?”

“That bastard!” Asch swore, kicking at the metal fence enclosing the flowers. “He tricked me! He told me Natalia wanted to speak with me.”

_ Oh, for fuck’s sake, Luke.  _ Guy  _ knew _ there was something off about the grin Luke had when ushering Guy to the castle gardens.

While it was probably a clever plan to corner Asch — he would never voluntarily agree to speak with Guy alone otherwise —, Luke failed to realize that angering Asch was the last thing Guy needed right now. And tricking him into thinking he was going to see his princess was the best way to make him mad.

“Sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize. I hear enough of that word from the dreck.”

Asch wasn’t lying. Luke did have a bad habit of apologizing for things that weren’t his fault. But they weren’t here to talk about Luke. They were here to talk about themselves. He may as well get it over with. What was that saying? It was easier to just pull the bandage off in one shot? Something like that.

“I wanted to talk with you.”

Guy didn’t miss the way Asch’s eyes flitted to the sword, the Jewel of Gardios, resting at his waist. Perhaps he should have left it behind. “About?” Asch’s tone was filled with suspicion. 

“About… us.” Guy weakly waved his hands in front of him in an attempt to better convey his intentions. Judging from Asch’s stiffness, he was doing a poor job. Oh, hell. Asch would want him to be blunt about it. So he may as well. “Asch. I don’t hate you.”

Asch narrowed his eyes, immediately catching on to what Guy was talking about. But, he said nothing. Guy took this as an opportunity to continue. “I dropped my plan for revenge a long time ago. Not just for Luke. For you, too.”

“...I know.” Asch wasn’t making this easy.

“I don’t blame you for your father’s actions. I stopped doing that when I stopped wanting revenge. Before, I was angry with how you were treating Luke, but…”

Asch’s jaw tightened as he stared Guy down, boring holes into him.

“You’re being a lot kinder to him. Ever since… ever since you guys came back. You’ve… changed.”

Asch only scoffed in response. Even he knew it was fruitless to deny it. “So what?”

Was Asch  _ really _ going to make Guy spell it out for him? Asshole. “I was thinking… maybe we could start over,” Guy said, echoing those very same words he said to Natalia so long ago. “We’ve both changed since… everything. I thought, maybe we could—”

“Luke made you do this.”

“Well, not exactly. He was just the one to push me towards doing it.”

“It?”

“Talking with you!” Guy said, unable to keep the impatience from his voice. Either Asch had been spending too much time with Jade (he doubted it), or he learned how to go in circles to avoid answering questions during his time in the Oracle Knights. Guy grit his teeth, feeling an all-too familiar fury welling up inside of him, the same anger he once regarded Asch with. Just what was Asch trying to accomplish with his short, clipped answers?

“I’m still the son of the man who killed your family.”

“Asch.” Guy was growing tired of this song and dance at this point. “You’re not your father. And we’re both not the people we once were, Asch  _ Fon Fabre _ .” Guy said, taking too much pleasure in the way Asch bristled at his re-obtained last name. “Unless you still call yourself “Asch the Bloody”?”

“Don’t mock me,  _ Gailardia Galan Gardios. _ ” Asch snarled, fury igniting in his eyes. 

“I wasn’t trying to. Look, if you’re just going to be difficult, then I won’t bother—”

“I’m not being difficult!” 

They stared each other down, sparks flying between them. Guy wouldn’t be surprised if Asch threw a punch at him right about now. And Guy wasn’t so sure if he  _ wanted _ Asch to throw a punch at him, just so he’d have an excuse to kick Asch’s sorry ass.

Though the idea of having a brawl was delightful, there was no way Guy would get away with attacking the soon-to-be king of Kimlasca in his own castle. Besides, this was  _ not _ what Guy wanted to happen. Guy cursed himself, cursed Asch, for their inability to find equal ground. Just as Guy was about to say “forget it”, and walk away, Asch spoke up.

A whisper, one so quiet Guy had to ask himself if Asch had said anything at all. “You’re not lying.” Asch’s expression was far-off, unreadable, a sharp contrast to the scowl he had on moments earlier. No longer was Asch standing in a battle stance, no. His shoulders had sagged and his body was like a puppet with its strings cut. 

“Huh?” Guy said dumbly, too shocked by Asch’s sudden change in attitude to properly process what he just said.

“You do want to start over.” Asch spoke with a tenderness Guy didn’t know Asch was capable of, his words leaving Guy frozen in his moments.

“I mean… why not?” Guy said, once he finally remembered how to speak. “We were… kind of close in the past.”

“Wasn’t that all fake?” Just like that, Asch’s tone was back to its regular roughness, though Guy could hear the bitterness in his voice this time. “You only pretended to be nice to me so you could get close enough to kill me.”

Guy visibly flinched. “I guess that wasn’t the right thing to say.”

“Dumbass.”

It was a pattern at this point. Guy would say something stupid, Asch would retaliate with anger, there would be a brief moment of repose, then everything would repeat. They were going nowhere at this rate. “...Asch. If you don’t want to start over and try to be friends, I understand.”

“That’s not it!” Asch blurted out. If he got any more red, he’d be the same colour as his hair, Guy remarked. He looked absolutely furious right now, either at himself or Guy. Probably both.

“I’m not that dreck.”

“I know you’re not. And can you stop calling Luke “dreck”? I know it’s probably strange to call him Luke, but—”

“No.” Asch sharply cut Guy off. “He’s a dreck, so I’ll call him such.”

Such a child. Guy sighed. “Suit yourself. But you and Luke are two different people. I know that. I’m not just trying to be friends with you because you’re Luke’s original.”

“Then why  _ are _ you trying to be friends with me?” Asch demanded, spitting out the word ‘friends’ like it was venom.

“Do I need a reason?”

Guy hadn’t shouted, but Asch recoiled all the same, surely not have been expecting that answer. He  _ was _ kind of like Luke, in a sense. They were both idiots. Not everything needed a clear-cut reason. Some things just happened because they could. Did Guy really need an essay on why he wanted to be friends?

Asch looked to be having an internal struggle with himself, clenching and unclenching his fists. Finally, he let out a long, slow breath. “You really are soft.” Asch said faintly.

Guy gave a weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah. I get that a lot.”

Then, they stood in silence, seemingly run out of words to say. While it was better than arguing (and fighting), the silence wasn’t doing anything for them. Asch looked to Guy, who suddenly found the flower bed by Asch’s feet  _ very _ interesting. He really wished Asch would look away, it was getting awkward now. Was this Guy’s cue to say something else? A joke, to lighten the mood? Or should he ask Asch about his answer once more? Or perhaps—

Asch broke the silence before Guy could. “I suppose I could give you a chance then.”

Guy looked to Asch, eyes wide and mouth hung wide open. “You mean you’ll—”

“Yes. Fine. I will. I’m going against my better judgement and believing that what you say is true.”

With that, Guy laughed, his laughter fading into the night sky, and with it the weight of the once-heavy atmosphere covering the two men. “You can trust me.”

“Good. But if I ever find out that you’re lying, or you’re doing this to get Malkuth on Kimlasca’s good side or something stupid like that—” Asch stalked up towards Guy, none too lightly jabbing him in the chest.“You’ll have hell to pay.”

Right. Asch was no longer a God-General, but he certainly kept his aura of authority and power. Luckily, Guy had no intentions of being sliced into pieces until his body was barely recognizable, or whatever Asch meant by hell. No, he was telling the truth.

“Thanks, Asch.” Guy grinned, one that reached his eyes, so different from the fake smiles he would use to charm Asch — who was Luke at the time — into believing his lies. “It really means a lot to me.”

“...Sure. Whatever.” Asch mumbled, but there was a tinge of red on his cheeks. “You’re less annoying than that dreck’s other friends anyway.”

“Natalia’s one of Luke’s friends.” Guy couldn’t help but point out. Asch growled, shattering the peaceful air of the night. Was it a stupid idea to anger Asch right after they… managed to become friends? Put aside their pasts? Call a truce? Well, whatever it was, it was probably a bad idea to anger Asch on purpose. Oh, but he was too easy to rile up. Besides, Asch getting angry and threatening to kill somebody was a daily occurrence, with Luke being the biggest offender.

“Don’t insult Natalia.” Asch hissed and Guy failed to hold back a chuckle, remembering the same backwards logic Asch displayed way back in Mushroom Road. They both weren’t the people they once were — controlled by their anger and hate, and seeking vengeance — but they weren’t different people. Some things never change.

Both Luke and Asch had gotten a second chance at life, lives they were now living to its fullest, and Guy was determined not to let his second chance with Asch be any different. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really want more Asch and Guy friendship. There's so much potential, since Guy has put aside his past of hatred and in Eldrant, Asch has no choice but to push aside his past of hatred to move on. Of course, he, ah, dies before that could really happen. Unless you're me, who is an avid believer that both Luke and Asch somehow make it back alive because who cares about game logic, they both deserve to live and Asch deserves the greatest redemption arc. q_q
> 
> Thank you for reading~


End file.
